sports direct(ly) refuse to be consumer nice

[FindAReasonToSmile]

"We do our best to ensure all of our customers enjoy a happy shopping experience", is what it says on the Sports Direct website. Today I had a very less than happy shopping experience when going back to branch to ask for a replacement for a rucksack that had torn after just 9 months use.
"It's over 6-months old" and "I can see it's been used", said the manager who came down to examine the torn rucksack my teenager used for school. Of course it has been used. I didn't buy it to sit in a cupboard. But not able to stay together for even 9 months is too much to expect? Really? Entire babies are built in that.
"Can I get this in writing?", I asked. To be fair this manager did just that, even giving a phone number (head office?) when I said I would be going to BBC 3 counties about this. It took another request for him to add his own name too but he did.
What really gets me is, if Sports Direct think 6 months is the life expectancy of such products then why not make that clear at the point of sale. Tell me directly and openly, before I buy, that the £14.99 I am about to pay for the rucksack reduced from £29.99, is only expected to last up to 6 months. If I still choose to buy it and it fails even at 6 months the fair enough. But why choose to tell me this is really a £30 rucksack bargain, reduced by 50% to just £15, and then, when it fails, refuse to honour the quality they implied they sold me?
I'm taking this to JVS on BBC 3 counties radio. The monetary value on my individual item is not much but, spread across other such customers, the total injustice is probably huge.

YABU.
Sports Direct aren’t exactly famous for top quality goods.
Why would you want a replacement if the first one didn’t meet your expectations?

For the first 6 months any non wear & tear damage is considered to have existed at the point of manufacture & onus is on ship to prove otherwise. Beyond 6 months onus is on the consumer to prove the damage was due to defect & not poor treatment.

Having seen how teenage boys treat their bags, after 6 months you’d really struggle to prove it was defect & not wear & tear or bad treatment. Price is irrelevant

They were pretty good about my returning a couple of things which didn’t fit the recipient when I had lost the receipt and didn’t have the card they were bought on. No quibbles - they checked their sales ledger for the date I’d bought them (a month or so earlier), confirmed they had sold three such items and gave me a refund.

I also think 9months of heavy use disqualifies you from a refund on an item which cost £15. Why are you trying to stir up bad press for the company?

Do they still only give credit notes instead of refunds?

I really think you're over reacting about this. Sports Direct are not known for their quality so I don't know why you keep describing it as a quality rucksack. In my opinion £30 for a rucksack is quite cheap compared to others on the market and I think its just a case of you get what you pay for. Learn from this and buy better quality rucksacks in the future and stay away from Sports Direct.

Sonichu, 'taking the piss'? Really?
A bag for £30, discounted to £15, that falls apart after less than 9 months use is a good deal? You really believe that?

FredaFrogspawn, what heavy use? Where did you get that from? I never wrote it?
This was a rucksack for school so only used in school time so less than six months use and it was advertised as worth £30 so why am I wrong to expect more than 6 months actual use? Are you saying I should be paying £60 a year, every year, for a basic school bag?

£15 for a school bag is a bargain OP. Have you seen how teenagers treat their stuff? It gets kicked about, left lying on the floor in mud on the field, dumped in corners and is generally not well looked after. I think you've done pretty well out of it, to be honest.

You've paid the equivalent of £1.60 a month for it - that's pretty cheap. Even if it was £30 that's still only £3.20. Unfortunately stuff won't last if it's not treated properly and lots of people don't look after their stuff - but that's not the shops fault!

You bought it from sports direct it isn't going to last. The majority of their stock is cheap products.

But the £30 would be rrp not what it's worth or ever intended to be sold for. Yabu

@findareasontosmile. I don’t think you will take any of the comments on board unless they are agreeing with your opinion. Personally I wouldn’t return a rucksack (be it £30 or £15) nine months after purchase but good luck with taking it to the radio...

I think you need to take a look at your username OP and give it up. Surely it's not worth getting this worked up about? You're not even addressing the point about how teenage boys treat their bags.

Work out the cost per use for the school days it was used and you'll see your £15 rucksack has been excellent value. Then buy a replacement.

30 pounds really isn't expensive for a rucksack for school use. My dc have/had Satches which cost over 100 euro. Dc1 used his for 5 years and it was still in half-decent nick when we replaced it. Dc2's has been going strong for 2.5 years.
Was this rucksack actually designed for school use?

I would expect a £30 backpack to last longer than 9 months! DS has a £40 one (paid £25) for school and it's lasted 4 years so far. Faded but no holes or rips.

Hhahhhahahhaa you wanted a refund on a 9 month old rucksack and threatened them with BBC 3.

No wonder the manager was quite happy to put in writing. You are being ridiculous

Bloody hell, life is too short to get this wound up about a crap rucksack. Shop elsewhere in future.

9 months of wear and tear for only £15? I'd be grateful if I were you!

I can't believe you tried it on after 9 months wear and tear by a teenager.
But do let us know when your Watchdog slot is so we can cringe.

If you’re taking a rip in a rucksack to the radio what on earth would you do if you encountered an actual problem in life? I think you need to find a hobby or see your friends more.

🍪

The vast majority of people are saying YABU. (I agree by the way.) Knowing this now, do you seriously expect a BBC consumer programme or any media to give a monkey’s? Honestly, they’ll have a laugh at your expense. Objectively speaking, yes, it would be good if something did last longer than 9 months wear and tear, but today’s ‘fast fashion’ really isn’t built to be robust. I’m surprised you haven’t figured this out yet.

A £15 rucksack would be for school/commuting, far too cheap for a hiking rucksack.
If it's so important to you, why not mend it? If DS is a teenager he must have had other school bags whilst at secondary school - how long did they last?

YABU!!! Good luck with the BBC 14.99 come on that’s cheap plastic of course it won’t last 9 months of constant use with books in it, trainers, etc...

It's a sports store not a fast fashion store, the gear should last longer than 9 months. Depends if it was designed for school use though, books are different to sports gear.